L'AQUILA , Italy -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The youngest had n't lived half a year . The oldest had lived nearly a hundred .

A rescue worker Friday kisses the coffin of a child killed by this week 's earthquake in central Italy .

The official government list of victims from this week 's earthquake in central Italy reached 287 on Friday , as Italians held a mass state funeral to lay the victims to rest .

They included Antonio Loavan Ghiroceanu , who was born December 11 . He would have been 6 months old on Saturday .

The oldest-known victim of the quake was Evandro Testa , 96 , who was born in 1913 .

More than 200 caskets were lined up at the funeral , draped with flowers . At least one small white coffin belonging to a child sat atop a larger coffin , a baby 's pastel outfit hanging off the side .

The funeral was being held outside a hangar in Coppito , a town adjacent to the earthquake 's epicenter of L'Aquila .

Officials elected to hold the Mass in the open air to avoid the risk of injury from falling debris . Aftershocks continue to shake the region more than four days after the earthquake , and some were even felt during Friday 's funeral .

All of the area 's cardinals and bishops , along with 100 priests , attended the special funeral Mass. . Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was also there , greeting and embracing some of the thousands of mourners before the service .

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone presided over the Mass as an envoy from Pope Benedict XVI , who plans to visit the region after Easter . Watch Italy bury its dead ''

Bertone said the funeral was a `` precious moment '' to understand the meaning of life and death .

`` Everything can stop in a second -- projects , plans -- everything finishes . All that remains is love , '' he said . Watch more on funeral

Mourners , who were transported to the funeral on buses , dabbed their eyes and noses . Some stared at the ground or held each other . Few appeared focused on anything but remembering the victims .

`` I feel rebirth in the heart , because below that rubble there is a will to rebuild , to start again , to plan and to dream , '' Bertone said , offering a message of hope .

The towns of L'Aquila and the surrounding region , he said , `` will come back stronger , will have more courage and give life to these places with that power and strength and dignity of the soul that distinguishes them . ''

As well as sending Bertone to deliver his message , the pope sent holy oils to L'Aquila and a chalice with which to take Communion .

Archbishop Giuseppe Molinari of L'Aquila also planned to deliver a message .

The 6.3-magnitude quake Monday morning left about 30,000 people without their homes . Almost 20,000 of them are braving chilly nights in tents while about 11,000 others are staying in hotels , said Agostino Miozzo , a spokesman for the Italian Civil Protection Agency . Watch more on the aftermath

Recovering from such losses and rebuilding the city of L'Aquila will take several years , according to Miozzo . The medieval city is about 120 km -LRB- 75 miles -RRB- northeast of Rome .

Berlusconi has said rebuilding will cost several billion euros .

Aftershocks have heightened anxiety in the area -- including a moderate 5.6 magnitude tremor that struck the area Tuesday .

`` The mood is a little bit afraid , '' said Marco Volponi of the Civil Protection agency . He was working in a tent camp , housing people whose homes were inhabitable .

In the nearby village of Onna , 40 people -- more than one out of every eight residents in the town of 300 -- were killed in the earthquake . On some streets , every single home was destroyed .

Anna Rita Difilice lost her son , Fabio , 20 , to the quake -- the deadliest to strike Italy in decades and the first major quake in the country in seven years .

She said she does n't know what comes next for her . Her village has become populated with tents , fold-up beds and feeding stations handing out food , water and other supplies for survivors .

But she said she knew one thing : she 's not going anywhere .

`` My son died here , '' she said . `` There is no way I 'm leaving this town -- not ever . ''

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Italians have gathered to farewell nearly 300 earthquake victims

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Almost 20,000 have braved chilly nights in tents , about 11,000 others in hotels

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Toll from Monday morning 's earthquake continues to rise : 287 now dead